''Below Zero'' is a 2011 Canadian thriller- horror film. It is directed by Justin Thomas Ostensen, and stars

Edward Furlong Edward Walter Furlong (born August 2, 1977) is an American actor. He won Saturn and MTV Movie Awards for his breakthrough performance at age 13 as John Connor in James Cameron's '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day''; which was followed by a mini-seque ...

Michael Berryman Michael John Berryman (born September 4, 1948) is an American character actor. Berryman was born with hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia, a rare condition characterized by the absence of sweat glands, hair, and fingernails; his unusual physical ...

and

Kristin Booth Kristin Booth (born August 28, 1974) is a Canadian actress, born in Kitchener, Ontario. She graduated with Honours BFA from Ryerson Theatre School at Ryerson Polytechnic University in 1997. Career Kristin Booth grew up in Kinkora, near the S ...

Plot

A screenwriter suffering from writer's block locks himself in a meat locker. There, he hopes to come up with the perfect story for a horror film about a man trapped in a meat locker. He imagines a story in which a man is menaced by an evil butcher. However, reality and fiction begin to merge, and his imaginary butcher turns into a real threat.

Cast

as Jack/Frank *

as Gunner *

as Penny *Dee Hannah as Mrs. Hatcher *

Michael Eisner Michael Dammann Eisner (born March 7, 1942) is an American businessman and former chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of The Walt Disney Company from September 1984 to September 2005. Prior to Disney, Eisner was president of rival film st ...

as Monty *Sadie Madu

Production

Writer Signe Olynyk developed writer's block whilst writing the film. In order to overcome it, she locked herself in a meat locker for five days to develop the story. In February 2010, it was revealed that director Justin Thomas Ostensen would start filming in March 2010 in Canada. Then in March, ''

The Hills Have Eyes ''The Hills Have Eyes'' is an American horror franchise that consists of four horror films, as well as a graphic novel and merchandise. The first film was released in 1977, '' The Hills Have Eyes''; the series was rebooted in a 2006 remake. T ...

'' actor

was announced to appear in the film as Gunnar.

was also announced in April 2012. In the same month

, Sadie Madu and Dee Hannah were also added. Filming took place in

Alberta, Canada Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territ ...

. The film was originally titled ''Below Zero 3D'' but in January 2012, it was revealed the 3D had been dropped from the film.

Release

The world premiere was at the

Calgary International Film Festival The Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) is a film festival held annually in Calgary, Alberta, in late September and early October. CIFF is the largest international film festival in Alberta and the sixth largest in Canada. The Festival's ...

, 18 September 2011. The film had 31 official selections at film festivals, including: *

A Night of Horror International Film Festival A Night of Horror International Film Festival is a horror genre film festival that is based in Sydney, Australia. There seems to be some consensus that the event is Australia's premiere, and possibly only, horror film festival. In his monthly c ...

. Sydney, Australia (March 2012) *

Arizona International Film Festival The Arizona International Film Festival is the oldest and longest running independent film festival in Arizona. Taking place yearly, film programs include a mix of shorts, children's films, feature-length films, documentaries and animation films. ...

* Austin Film Festival. Austin, Texas, US (October 2011) *Derby City Film Festival. Louisville, Kentucky, US (February 2012) *

Garden State Film Festival The Garden State Film Festival is a film festival in the United States held in Asbury Park, New Jersey which debuts more than 200 independent films annually over four days each spring. The festival was founded in 2002 in Sea Girt, New Jersey by ...

. Asbury Park, New Jersey, US (March 2012) *Independent Filmmakers Showcase Film Festival. Los Angeles, California, US (March 2012) *Indie Horror Film Festival. Chicago, Illinois, US (March 2012) It was released on home video 28 August 2012.

Reception

Mike Saulters from Slackerwood.com gave a mixed review of the film, saying, "the story becomes a muddled mess that doesn't have a clear destination" and calls Kristin Booth's character "annoying as hell". However, Saulters praises the acting of Edward Furlong and Michael Berryman noting they are the "highlight of the movie". Martin Unsworth of '' Starburst'' rated the film with 8 out of 10 stars and wrote that he expected it to be a routine

slasher film A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as ...

, but it turned out to be "fresh and surprising".

Awards

Won

San Diego Film Festival The San Diego International Film Festival (SDIFF) is an independent film festival in San Diego, California produced by the non-profit San Diego Film Foundation. The main event has traditionally been held annually in the autumn at venues in the ...

: Best Screenplay *Toronto Independent Film Festival: Best Sci-Fi/Horror Film *Fright Night Film Fest: Best Soundtrack *Indie Horror Film Festival: Best Special Effects, Special Recognition *Los Angeles Fear and Fantasy Film Festival: Best Screenplay *Prestige Film Awards: Gold Award for Best Script, Gold Award for Best Art Direction *American International Film Festival: Best Horror Movie

Nominated

Hoboken International Film Festival The Hoboken International Film Festival is an annual festival that promotes domestic and international television pilots, screenplays, non-studio films. Awards, with cash prizes, are given for the best submissions. The festival was founded by Kennet ...

: Best of the Festival, Best Feature Film, Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Furlong), Best Actress (Booth), Best Editor *Indie Horror Film Festival: Best Sound, Best Editing, Best Director, Best Feature Film.

References

External links

* *
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Below Zero 2011 films Films shot in Alberta 2011 horror films Canadian horror thriller films English-language Canadian films 2010s English-language films 2010s Canadian films